Nick Martinelli scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and his basket with 2.6 seconds left helped Northwestern hold off USC 77-75 on Tuesday night. Martinelli split a double team near the baseline and softly laid it in to give Northwestern (13-10,

With 35 seconds remaining and Northwestern clinging to a 74-71 lead, graduate student center Matthew Nicholson was fouled on his way to the basket. Had he converted both free throws, the game would have been all but decided.